Rumor & Innuendo

Cats WAVE goodbye. A source tells me that UK’s relationship with that Louisville TV channel has severed, at least temporarily. If he’s right, there will be no Wildcat football replays on the station. I’m told the breach occurred when Mitch Barnhart wouldn’t insist that the UK-U of L telecast in this market be on that station. Then somebody didn’t answer somebody’s phone call, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah. Stay tuned. But check your local listings for the correct station.

Cardinal Hoopster on the move??? A close observer of U of L sports insinuates that one of The Rick’s stalwarts is seriously considering a transfer before the upcoming season. Nobody else I’ve talked to has heard such a murmur. Maybe my whisperer is trying to cause a stir. Let’s hope so. I’ll keep poking about. If anybody out there knows anything, my address is below.

SchnellSpeak of the Week. When there are media types and dead time around the U of L football complex, the subject usually turns to you-know-who. That’s right, Coach Best Quip On The Gridiron. The Brohm brothers — Greg and Jeff — chimed in last Saturday. Jeff: “When three-a-days started, we’d always have to do a two mile-run. And it was always best to look exhausted at the end.” Greg: “Otherwise, Coach would give you the Roger Bannister story. How he fainted at the finish when he broke four minutes. So we’d coast until the last hundred yards, then sprint and fall across the finish line.”

Meanwhile, back in sunny southern FLA, the Schnell isn’t letting pundits predicting a dire season for the Fighting Owls diminish his rosy outlook. (Athlon rates the team down in triple figures among D-I schools. Sun Belt coaches pick the team to finish in the league’s second tier.) When the most optimistic pigskinner in America addressed the Florida Sports Writers Association media day, he asked himself this question: “Where are we in our chase to become the best team in America?” His answer: “I have to report to you that we’re making good progress.”